September 8, 2009
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today is grant's first day of school, and tomorrow is mine. we are ready to get this show on the road. school year, let's do this. when grant gets home, my plan is to go straight to the kitchen to make strawberry-nectarine smoothies (to celebrate the beginning) and i will ask grant to stay by the counter and tell me the story of his day. i love when he does this. i love when he stands and talks to me while i'm making food. it's very calming and he's very good company. and for dinner i'm making bonnie smith stromboli. mm. this is my favorite meal that mom makes. shockingly, it will be my first attempt at the dish on my very own. i hope i do her and bonnie proud.
i'm feeling pretty satisfied as i squeeze in the last bit of summer and i think i am almost ready for fall. i think. don't ask me if i'm ready for cold weather, because i might faint. but i've eaten about 15 ears of sweet corn and plenty of baked beans and i even tried to eat a tomato again. (i didn't like it. how frustrating. i even sprinkled it with sugar just like grandma showed me. i'm so over trying to eat tomatoes by themselves.) i have organized my closet by color and repainted my toenails and washed all the rugs in our house. i bought 5 jumbo white nectarines at the farmers' market and fell in love. i did some rearranging of furniture and it feels like i have a new bedroom. i made heidi's orange scones and yummy breadsticks and chipotle chicken marinade and mmm. my sister in law is a genius. i bought imogen's new album and have it memorized. it will be the fall 2009 soundtrack in my memories. i have not had a good peach yet. that is still on my checklist. i've gone for walks without a jacket and watched the beans start to turn yellow in the fields had strawberries & cream for dessert last night. oh, and i've read books. boy, have i read books. i'm still reading books. i'm reading such good books that i can't take it anymore. i must tell you.
let me be a woman by elisabeth elliot. that woman is brilliant. her writing is just plain smart and sensible. it leaves me thinking, how does she string those ordinary words together so shrewdly? it's staggering. i would never want to be in an argument with her. this collection of letters to her daughter is my favorite literature by her yet.
pilgrim's inn by elizabeth goudge. i picked this one out from a pile of books because there were vintage illustrations of the characters on the inside cover. how can you say no? the story was everything i wanted from it. it was good-natured and pleasant and full of beautiful, candid descriptions. and i loved the highfalutin british vocabulary, too. (isn't that a great word? i picked it up from the book.) this is my first goudge and her style totally gels with me.
stepping heavenward by elisabeth prentiss. every time i read this book, i realize again how crazy fantastic it is. there is nothing like it. i have to recommend it, otherwise i would feel like i'm hoarding a great treasure. and i hate hoarding. seriously, i want to send each of you a copy of your own to keep by your bed and dog-ear the pages and read aloud to your daughter.
thanks for indulging me this spontaneous book club meeting. i thoroughly enjoyed it and do hope you'll come again next time. oh, and if any of you fancy a nice book to read for the fall, please, please do my heart a favor and borrow a mitford book from your library. i would sleep better if you did. that's another one that i simply cannot hoard.

8 comments:

Amanda said...

Oh I wish you a nice first day back to school tomorrow!

I, like you, have given up eating tomatoes by themselves. I just can't bring myself to do it!

Renee said...

oh I do hope your stromboli comes out great! It sounds sooo good for dinner right now! And, yes, isn't Elisabeth wonderful? They were re-playing one of her interviews the other day on the radio, and I listened so intently like I used to! I went right out to buy "Let Me Be a Woman" and "Quest For Love" (maybe your next read by her!)..the man at the bookstore said, "what's with all the Elisabeth Elliot requests?"...I said, "they played her on the radio today'...ooohhh,
enough said!

The Minnesotan with the German-Irish Name said...

Oh hurrah! Pilgrim's Inn is one of my favorite books. I wish I were like Sally Adair, but I think I would have to be taller.

Renee said...

p.s. don't you wish Elisabeth could get some world-wide publicity and shout out her views on the high-call of motherhood?~! You're right...no one would want to argue against her!

marta said...

ooh i am excited about your book club post. thank you for the reviews. p.s. your site is looking so streamlined and lovely.

Kelli said...

I just love a good book and listening to my husband. Sounds like a great day! Will you share the stromboli recipe. I'm sure it will be delicious.

Anneliese said...

i've been meaning to tell you the good news. i ordered all the mitford books & have been enjoying them. taking my time. well i thought that i had one more to read, but i didn't see it in my stack. so i was confused, and assumed i must have read them all. well, i found the last book! it was not in the stack of mitford books! i haven't started it yet...but i am so excited! :)

Anonymous said...

Your stromboli looks really good. I love the name Bonnie Smith. It sounds so wholesome and so 50's!

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about this blog

Hello, I'm Summer. A people-loving introvert whose hope and life is in Jesus. His promises are my passion and my ministry is homelife. This blog is a place for me to write about everyday things. Especially food. My favorite thing to do is sit around a table, lingering over a long meal with good conversation. I live with my husband and our 2 littles. We like blizzards, thrifting, grammar, guacamole, cheerful hearts, nice manners, good movies, and making simple, real, nutrient-dense food.

"If Christ be anything, He must be everything."
-C.H. Spurgeon

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